The Fairy Queen
by atrfla
Summary: Queen Clarion is ill- very ill. She only has two seasons to live. Milori died almost a year and a half ago, and when Clarion dies, there will be need of a new ruler. And that princess comes, more powerful than any fairy or sparrow man in history, but does she really want to be a princess? And does she fit her role?
1. Prologue

Queen Clarion glided into the small, dark, dank tent and called, "Brangwy! Are you there?"

A high-pitched laugh echoed throughout the crevices of the tent. If Queen Clarion hadn't known better, she would have bolted thinking it was some evil villain. But it was just Brangwy. "Always here, Queen Clarion, always here, always there, always everywhere in consciousness."

A fairy materialized out of the gloom. She had pale skin and roughly cut short black hair. She wore a black dress that stopped just above her knees and knee-high black boots. Her black eyes glimmered. Her glittering white wings flapped. "What may I do for you, Queen?" she asked in a voice that sounded like a snake's, almost.

Brangwy Nightshine was the only surviving Night fairy. Only three had been born in Fairy history- Brangwy and her two sisters, Brennalyn and Brunhilda. Sadly, Brennalyn had been caught by an eagle- during the day, Night fairies were small and weak, unable to do anything except sleep and eat- and Brunhilda had gone missing long ago. Night fairies had a special gift- the gift of Prophecy. Brangwy was Queen Clarion's Royal Psychic.

"I am ill," announced Queen Clarion.

"This I knew," Brangwy dismissed. "You have not long to live. This I know as well."

"There must be a successor to the throne!" cried Clarion in a trembling voice. "Ever since Milori died, I've had to rule both kingdoms, and it's too stressful. I think that's why I'm ill! When I- when I die, Pixie Hollow will be thrown into disarray unless there is someone else to lead!"

"Why not the ministers?" Brangwy suggested slyly in her odd, high-pitched accent.

"They're too preoccupied with their seasons and-"

Brangwy giggled. "I am just joking with you, Queen Clarion. I have already seen the coming of a new ruler, more powerful than any ruler in Pixie Hollow history. A female. She will be one of the next three new fairies. I have also seen that you will live only for five new fairies."

"Brangwy," said Clarion in a tired voice, "I'm so tired of this. I think I just want to die, so I can be with Milori. But-"

"Duty before love," Brangwy finished. "Do not worry. Your death will be quick, slipping away in your sleep just after autumn comes."

It was the beginning of spring. "Two more seasons, then," Clarion sighed. "Thank you, Brangwy. I- I can't repay you enough."

"Being the Royal Psychic is all I need," Brangwy laughed. "You are tired. Go sleep somewhere. It will do you good."

Without looking back, Queen Clarion glided out into the sunlight and headed for her bed.


	2. Chapter 1- dedicated to SailorSedna052

"Queen Clarion? There's a new fairy. Two in one week! I say, isn't that a rather unusual occurrence? She's rather pretty too. Bet she's an animal talent. She certainly looks like one."

Queen Clarion brushed past the sparrow man and flew straight for the welcoming-place. Already the little girl was sitting up, waving at the older fairies and sparrow men who cooed down at her.

"Oh, isn't she adorable?"

"That hair!"

"She's so pretty!"

"Prettier than Queen Clarion, almost." That was Vidia. Clarion smiled as she glided down.

"Born of laughter, clothed in cheer." Clarion began her spiel. "Happiness has brought you here. Welcome to Pixie Hollow, my little one. I trust you found the journey smooth?"

"I- I don't really remember the journey," the little girl said, tucking a lock of her curly brown hair behind her ear. Queen Clarion could hear whispers betting on how long the new fairy's hair was- waist length, knee length, or foot length. She herself was betting longer than foot length.

"Well, you made it here and you're unhurt, so I believe it was okay," Queen Clarion continued smoothly. _It's either this one or the next one_. She hoped it was this little girl. The training would begin sooner; she'd get to know her better; and...

...and it didn't help that she was so small and sweet and looked like a princess. And those eyes, those bluish-gray eyes, they drew you in with just one look.

The leaders of the fairies came forward and placed their icons on the small golden mushrooms that now stayed full-time at the welcome place. The ball of light representing Light fairies glowed golden. The blue dewdrop representing Water fairies shimmered. The golden flower representing Garden fairies glittered and rotated slowly.

"What are these?" the little girl asked. Her voice was stronger than most newborns', yet it had an undertone- _wariness_, Queen Clarion thought. _Possibly excitement._

"They will help you discover your talent," the Queen replied. "Every fairy has one. Touch one. Go on."

But before the little fairy could touch one of the objects, a silver light emitted from the one nearest to her- the golden flower. Rosetta gasped with delight- but then the silver glow spread to the glittering dewdrop. Silvermist frowned, puzzled. The tornado started to glow. The egg (Animal). The hammer. The snowflake. The leaf.

_What's going on?_ Queen Clarion heard more than a few fairies and sparrow men whisper. _What's happening? Why are they glowing like that?_

Rosetta and Iridessa exchanged worried glances. Silvermist watched the little fairy, who was obviously more than a little frightened. She'd stood up, and her hair hung just to her ankles. Fawn owed Tinker Bell a pinch of pixie dust. But Tink didn't care. The poor girl looked so scared. Honestly, so was she. She'd never seen anything like this.

All of the objects began to rise and spin in midair. Faster and faster they spun until they were just blurs in the air. Then they floated towards a spot two fairy-lengths above the girl's head. There the spinning objects united into one big silver blur, glowing with a light brighter than the second star to the right's. And they stopped twirling.

The objects had transformed into a silver tiara with a stone in the middle, glittering and gorgeous, that seemed to be all of the colors of the rainbow and more. The tiara floated down and lodged in the girl's hair.

Everyone stopped breathing. The muttered conversations stopped. Only Queen Clarion didn't look shocked. She'd seen it before- only once, but you never forget it. Only her crown, her glow, had been golden, all those years ago.

"A princess," Fawn whispered.

The word went around quickly. _A princess, a princess. A princess has been born._ Messengers zipped off into the night carrying the most urgent news Pixie Hollow had seen in a long, long time. Very soon there were many fairies crowding into crevices craning their necks to get a look at the new princess.

"You will be my heir and successor to the throne," intoned Clarion. "My dear, I name you Clare. Leaders?"

Exchanging glances, the unofficial leaders of each talent flew forward- not the official ones like Fairies Mary and Gary, but Silvermist, Fawn, Tinker Bell, Rosetta, Iridessa, Vidia, Periwinkle, and Terrence, among others.

"Welcome your newest member," Queen Clarion continued.

Rosetta raised her hand tentatively. "Um, of all of the talents? Is that even _possible_?"

"Well, if she has the talent, why shouldn't she learn how to use-"

"Um, _hello_?" the new girl interrupted.

Iridessa gasped. _No one interrupts Queen Clarion!_

But no one seemed to mind. Clarion turned to the newly christened Clare. "Yes?"

"We don't get to pick our names here?" Clare asked. She sounded genuinely outraged. Or at least _very _annoyed.

"N-no," Queen Clarion stuttered. "I choose every fairy's name. Are you unhappy with a derivative of my name? I am, after all, the Queen. And you are the Princess."

"What about... something more talent-related? Like... uhhhhh... Poppy. For the garden fairy in me. Or Rosey? Rosey's cute. Possibly Dew? Or Silver? Blue? Silver Blue?" Clare must have gone through thirty possible names before Queen Clarion hushed her.

"Why don't you stick with Clare for now, and we'll think of one later..." She trailed off when the cloud parted to reveal a pretty fairy, pale, with black hair, eyes, dress, and wings. It was Brangwy. The Queen loved the sight of Brangwy's wings in the moonlight. They glowed black with white markings, not clear with white markings like most other fairies (Clarion herself not included, of course).

"I knew you would need a name," she announced in that eerily snakelike high-pitched voice. "I foresaw it. And I have the perfect one." She flitted up and whispered one word, four perfect syllables, into Queen Clarion's ear.

"Amaryllis," Queen Clarion repeated. "It means fairy. Is that a satisfactory name?"

"Amaryllis," the newly renamed girl whispered to herself. "_Amaryllis_. It's perfect."

"I'll leave you to become acquainted with the leaders of the talents," Queen Clarion told Amaryllis. Then she dissolved into thin air, thinking, _This one has some spunk._


	3. Chapter 2- dedicated to Razorwind237

**Switching to Amaryllis's point of view. Thanks to the two favoriters/followers!**

A pretty Asian-ish fairy with long black hair- not as long as mine, but still pretty long- stuck out her hand first. "Hi. I'm Silvermist. I'm the unofficial head of the Water fairies."

"Like any of us are official," laughed a blonde with her hair in a bun. She wielded a hammer and her green dress was so short it could have passed for a minidress. Scratch that. It probably was a minidress. "Hi there. I'm Tinker Bell, but you can can call me Tink. I'm a tinker!"

"Obviously," muttered the purple-wearing black-haired one who had said I was almost as pretty as the Queen earlier. "I'm Vidia. Leader of the fast-flying fairies. A very rare talent. You might just turn out okay."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," I murmured.

"It's okay- Vidia's always like this," laughed a pretty orange-clad fairy with long braided brown hair and eyes. (Thankfully, her eyes were not braided. That would have been really weird.) "I'm Fawn. I'm the lead Animal fairy."

"That's Iridessa," the one in pink with a Southern accent, jerking a thumb towards the shy African-American one in yellow. "And I'm Rosetta. She's a light fairy. I'm a garden fairy. It's nice. To. Meet. You." She enunciated every word carefully, as if I didn't know how to speak.

"She does this every time," Vidia sighed. She turned to Rosetta. "She's not from the moon, remember? It's just like Periwinkle."

A pretty fairy with white hair wiggled her fingers. "That's me, by the way."

Finally, the only sparrow man (somehow the terms just popped into my head) extended a hand. He had shaggy blond hair and wore an acorn hat. "I'm Terrence. A dust-keeper fairy."

"Dust?" I asked.

"Pixie dust," explained Rosetta.

"What?"

"Magic yellow dust that helps us fly," Vidia said. Sarcastically, of course.

A messenger in red flew dove from overhead, where the number of fairies had severely dwindled. "Princess Amaryllis? I'm here to show you to your palace."

"Palace?" I asked.

"Does she only ask one-word questions?" muttered Vidia.

The messenger ignored her. "You're a Princess, Your Highness. You didn't think we'd stick you in some cottage like the rest of the fairies?!" After seeing my expression, she grimaced. "Oh dear, that's exactly what you thought. Well, come with me." She took my hand and flew off with me in tow.

}{ }{ }{

My palace was amazing. It had a wing for each talent, and each wing had a kitchen, three bathrooms, two bedrooms, many workrooms, and a few storage rooms- all themed for that talent. And all for me.

I explored the palace for about four hours before a knock came at my front door. Thankfully, I was in the front hall exploring.

It was a Messenger- a different one than last night's. He drove a huge tinker cart, carried in which were bundles of cloth of all colors and one tinker. A _seamstress_. The tinker and messenger hopped out and started carrying the fabric past me into my palace... without asking.

"Wait! What are you doing?" I cried as they cluttered up my main room.

"I'm just here to make you some clothes!" The tinker fairy called out. "Four for each talent!"

_Four? For each talent!_ I buried my head in my hands as the messenger passed carrying a bolt of shimmering silver silk. _This is going to be a loooooooooooooooong day._


	4. Chapter 3- dedicated to Ravenroset

"Ugh," I groaned as the seamstress measured my left arm for the fifth time. "I haven't grown in the six minutes since you've last measured that arm, you know."

"You never know!" she chirped. "Newborn fairies grow _very_ quickly sometimes!"

I ripped my arm free of her hands and dropped onto the couch. "Why do I have to have a seamstress do my clothes? Why can't I do them myself?"

"Why? Do you think every other fairy does?" She caught my gaze and strung her hands together. "Okay, I suppose you're right. But what if the clothes you make aren't princess-appropriate?"

"I'm the princess. _I _get to decide what's appropriate," I said firmly. A princess for less than a day and I was already getting the hang of it. "I'll do them myself. I understand what to do. Thank you for your time."

She flittered to the door, cast one last worried look at me and the mess of cloth my main living room now was, and fluttered out.

It took me eleven trips to transfer all of the materials to the bedroom I'd decided was my _least _favorite- the garden-fairy one. It was too bright. I'd never be able to sleep here. So I made it my clothesmaking room.

First I ripped up the seamstress's patterns. She wanted me to wear dresses with full skirts and poofy sleeves and- urgh. There was no way in Pixie Hollow that I would _ever _wear that type of dress. Instead, I draped the blue cloth representing Water fairies over me and got to work.

I worked until the sun was low in the sky, which was dark orange. Then the doorbell rang. My, I was popular.

I opened the door, still in my dandelion dress. Standing there I found _yet another_ messenger. When she caught sight of me, she gave me the weirdest look.

"Hmm?" I said absentmindedly.

"Queen Clarion requests Princess Amaryllis's presence at the Pixie Dust Tree when night falls. She wants her to wear silver. In a few moments a hairdresser will arrive."

"I don't need a hairdresser," I stated. "But thanks. Tell the hairdresser I can do my own hair."

The messenger raised her eyebrows, but zipped off. I closed the door and went back to the garden-fairy bedroom, where I held the silver dress up to my body. It had long sleeves that encircled parts of my hands like buttercups, and the skirt was like a ball gown, but not so full. It rippled when I moved, and it softly glowed.

I dressed in that, hanging my dandelion dress up in the closet, then found the shoes a messenger had brought earlier. I chose the silver flats and then looked in the mirror. My hair was kind of tangled- no wonder the messenger had given me a weird look- so I brushed it. Then I tried all types of hairstyles, finally deciding on a single braid that wrapped around my head. In the front, I wedged my crown. Then I stepped back.

I looked gorgeous. It wasn't _me, _though. All of this fancy dress-up stuff was leaving me exhausted. And who knew what the queen had in store for me?

}{ }{ }{

"Without further ado, I present to you... Princess Amaryllis of Pixie Hollow."

I flew out from behind the tree and waved shyly.

All of Pixie Hollow erupted. Everywhere I looked, fairies cheering, fairies waving, fairies calling my name. I spotted the minidress-wearing one, Tink, sitting with Rosetta, Iridessa, Silvermist, Vidia, Periwinkle, and... the animal-fairy one... what was her name? A baby animal of some sort? Kit? Lamb? No- Fawn. They were whispering and giggling. I wiggled my fingers up at them, and Silvermist noticed and pointed at me. Soon they were all smiling and waving at me.

Queen Clarion approached and took my hand. She lifted it up, like I was the winner of a boxing match or something. "Princess Amaryllis!"

The fairies went wild.

Queen Clarion hushed them and announced, "Tomorrow she will begin her training. Silvermist, she'll start with learning about her Water talent."

Silvermist blushed and grinned. "I'll teach her, Queen Clarion!"

Everyone started cheering again. I kept wiggling my fingers at the crowd.

"Then," Queen Clarion continued, "Rosetta will teach her of her Garden talent."

Rosetta giggled. "Of course!"

"Iridessa will help her develop her Light talent. Tinker Bell, you'll teach her about her Tinker talent. Vidia, she's depending on you for Fast-Flying instructions. After that, Fawn, you'll help her learn of her Animal talent. Brangwy, you'll teach her about the Night talent." She listed a bunch of other fairies and what they would teach me. Then she set up a line and had fairies line up- to meet me. A fairy for less than a day and I was already the most coveted in Pixie Hollow.

Wow.


	5. Chapter 4- dedicated to TomboyGirl123

**In response to a PM question, yes, Amaryllis's hairstyles from the previous chapter are in fact a nod to the Disney princesses- the tangled hair is a reference to Rapunzel and that mess she calls hair, and the braid style is Elsa's from when she goes all "ice sorceress" during 'Let it Go'. Only much, much, much longer- the braid goes down to her knees, and when she lets her hair down, it's longer than her body is tall. **

"Hello!" a voice said. "Princess?"

I looked up. It had been four hours of meet-and-greets, smiling, and saying "Hello" and "Charmed", and the line was still as long as ever.

It was a slight, redheaded Tinker fairy with glasses made of old copper bent into circles and filled with droplets of water. Beside him stood a stout Tinker fairy with black hair. "Hi."

"She's as pretty as they say," the redheaded one whispered to the other. Then he turned to me and smiled, bowing and holding out his hand. "Your Majesty! _So _pleased to meet you. I'm Phineas T. Kettletree, Esqu-"

"He's Bobble," the other one said, "and I'm Clank."

"I prefer my other name," muttered Bobble. Clank elbowed him and smiled at me.

"We used to be the unofficial Head Tinkers, but we gave the job to Tink. She's better!"

"Clank!" scolded Bobble, mortified, with a pink face.

"It's true," Clank said, like a little innocent schoolboy.

"Move along now," the Messenger to my left said, herding them off.

I smiled after them. _Maybe all these fairies aren't so uptight after all._

}{ }{ }{

The next day, I slipped into one of the dresses I'd created for Water fairy training. It was supple and lightweight, and ended with an abrupt stop just above my knees. The sleeves were elbow-length and made of slightly more flowing material, and the entire thing was a pretty light blue that almost- _almost_- matched my eyes.

_Knock!_ It was Silvermist, happily waiting patiently outside my little palace, playing with a dewdrop. "Your Highness," she said when I appeared, almost surprised-looking, as if she hadn't knocked. "Are you ready for training?"

"Of course," I said, twirling a lock of my wavy hair around my finger.

"That hair's gonna get really wet," she said. "Why don't you put it up?"

"Like- how?"

"We could braid it!"

"Too common."

"We could... cut it off!"

"No!"

"We could fishtail-braid it!"

"That's a better idea."

Silvermist called over three of her Water-talent friends and they had such fun fishtail-braiding my hair. When they were done, the finished heavy braid only reached down to the backs of my knees. I grinned. "It's perfect for Water training!"

They giggled, Silvermist's friends left, and Sil brought me to the pond so she could teach me to make ripples. I thought maybe it was a bit too easy for my first time out- and I was right. I immediately made the biggest ripple I could make (in other words, the entire pond). Sil gasped and applauded, then told me to try a daintier touch, which I did. Then she brought me to the brook to learn how to talk to it. It said such funny things!

All in all, not a bad day. That night, however, I went to go find Tink and her friends. I found them shut up in Tink's tinker home, laughing and applauding at a story that Rosetta had just told about her day with Sled a few nights ago. I hesitated at the door. _They seem so happy without me. Maybe I should go home._

I started to fly away, but the door opened and out came Fawn and Sil. Fawn flew one way, but Sil flew my way, and I realized there was no way I could get to a hiding spot. I was caught.

Sil spotted me and came over. "Why, Your Highness, are you all right?"

"Y-y-yes, I'm fine. Um, I was wondering if- you could go teach me another thing? Like, dewdrops, maybe?"

"Right away, Your Highness!" She started going in the direction of the waterfall. I flittered my wings to catch up with her.

"Wait- were you going to do something?"

"No, not at all!"

"You were."

Sil stopped. "Yessssss, I was going to go home and sleep- I woke up early this morning to perfect the pond for your first time. And I'm- tired," she yawned.

"Oh- then go home and sleep! I was just- a little- lonely, I guess," I said.

"No, Your Highness, I can-"

"Go home and sleep," I ordered, enunciating every word carefully. "You- deserve it."

She gulped. "Are- are you sure, Princess?"

"Positively."

I watched Sil fly away, and realized I _was _lonely. I wondered what the life of a normal fairy was like. No bowing, no 'Your Highness'ing, and just laughter and cheer and _normalness._ I sighed. _I would give anything to be a normal fairy with just _one _talent. _

Only one day, and I was already regretting Pixie Hollow. But wait- I'd had no choice in this! It wasn't _fair._

I sighed one last time and turned to fly back to my-

"Oof!"

I started to fall and caught myself, flapping my wings madly. I spun in midair to see the person who'd crashed into me.

"Bobble," I said with mild surprise. "What are you doing here?"

"My house is right there- Your Highness," he said, pointing with one finger. With the other arm he held a big purple violet that was _way _bigger than him.

"Where are you going with the violet?"

"I was just- just-" He looked down and coughed. "Nowhere."

"Tell me. And don't call me Your Highness."

"Of-of course, Your- Princess." He cleared his throat. "Can you keep a secret?"

"Yes, I can."

"I'm in love with Miss Bell," he confessed. "I bring her flowers and gifts by the name of 'Secret Admirer'. But she seems to be in love with that Dust fairy, Terry."

"Terrence?"

"That's it. They're the best of friends, and well- I never have a chance. I know Miss Bell's friends think that it's Terry-"

"Terrence-"

"-leaving the gifts, and they think it's very romantic." He coughed and dropped his gaze. "I just wonder what they'd think if they knew it was just me."

I started flying away, but called over my shoulder, "Don't let me interrupt your wooing, then. Go leave the violet at Tinker Bell's house- and good luck!"


End file.
